The Steel Guitar Forum

I have recently acquired a Show Pro Lloyd Green and am having problems with tuning.I believed that the guitar had been over tuned,I backed off all of the tuners at the changer end and started from scratch. I tuned all strings at the key head and then started to tune the changes.The second and the fourth strings are causing Me to pull My hair out.they will not stay stable at all.I cannot get a wholoe tone lower on the second string and even the half tone lower does not return properly. I notice there are three of the plastic adjustment hexes with red marked ends Namely one on each of the fourth and eigth string and one on the second string.I am really confused as to what these are for since having looked on the underside I see that they are not activatiing any pulls or lowers.
I own two other guitars (Zum and Rittenberry) and have no problem at all with either.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Billy, email Jeff at Show Pro, sure he will fix you up with info.

I believe those red hexes are set and not to be adjusted. I don’t own a Sho Pro but it seems that I was told that.

AGREE WITH MALCOLM. EMAIL JEFF AT SHOW PRO AND HE'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU.....

Thanks Gents, I sent Jeff an e mail, He is not able to answer any e mails until next Monday.

It's a silly fix but get some oil in the roller nuts. Running for years on no oil caused the same thing to happen to mine .

Of course something else might have happened to it but when mine started returning sharp on 4 and 8 lower, messing with over tuning and travel...all it came down to was sticking rollers and not the mechanics.

Thanks Steven I will check it out
Billy

Billy the Red Hex nuts sound like they are lower return compensators ... they are not always on all guitars but any string that both raises and lowers should have them hence 4 and 8, and also 2 ... they are used where a string returns sharp after being lowered. :-}

They are usually attached to a cross-rod that is locked into place and doesn't rotate like a normal cross-rod, or attached to a fixed brace like on the Zum's !!!

Work on one string at a time, Back off nylons on string 2 including and raise ala Franklin pull, and activate the finger by hand, does it return ok now billy? Can you push it down to C#? If so the nylons are too tight against the puller in relaxed mode, has someone tampered/rerodded this? Your second string Rod will need to be on a low hole in the finger and lowest hole on the bell crank ( looking at the guitar underneath laying on your back) before pulling any rods though keep it simple and check other possibilities, take photos of Rod placement before removal. Check there’s not a broken string end stuck in the changer too, just a few ideas, but we’re on the Internet so it’s like shooting rabbits in the dark! Lol


Cheers mate.

Thanks Paddy I discovered that the red tuner are compensators.

Thanks Larry, I am working slowly thru' the obvious steps and I am gradually getting there. I wonder though if the guitar has been supplied with only a half tone lower on the second string. The reason I say this is because when watching the movement of the action when the lowering lever is actuated I see that both the second and ninth strings are "pulled" at exactly the same time.
Best regards
Billy

Billy, those 2 strings are supposed to be set up so that the 2nd string reaches the D note when the 9th string tuning nut starts to lower that string to C#. If you were to move the knee lever by hand, you would feel when the tuning nut comes in contact with the changer, then both strings would continue to lower to C# when the knee lever hits the stop. It sounds like you'll probably need to tune the 2nd string to go to C# with the lever and possibly change the position of the lower rod for the 9th string so that it engages later to allow the 2nd string to drop 1/2 step.

Thanks Jerry
I had some help from Jeff Suratt and everything is operating as it should.
Best regards
Billy